Livestock and Poultry Environmental Learning Center:

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Why Create the LPE Learning Center?

The landscape of animal agriculture is changing rapidly, especially in relation to environmental issues and public policy. At the same time, major investments in research are resulting in new knowledge and tools for sound environmental decision making. The LPE Learning Center project was initiated in an effort to widen access to this information, utilizing existing avenues where possible, and developing new, innovative delivery methods where needed. View the introductory webcast about the LPELC. (You will need free software from Real Player to view the webcast).

Our Vision

Individuals involved in public policy issues, animal production, and delivery of technical services for confined animal systems will have on-demand access to the nation's best science-based resources that is responsive to priority and emerging environmental issues associated with animal agriculture.

Commitments of this Project

A national team representing a broad spectrum of those creating, delivering and utilizing research-based knowledge will establish a national Livestock and Poultry Environmental Learning Center committed to:

• Implementing a customer driven approach that will identify critical or emerging issues.
• Coordinating for each priority issue the assembly of our best science-based information.
• Developing and testing innovative outreach models for connecting those who are creating new research knowledge with the end users of that knowledge.
• Identifying appropriate national learning center roles that best support existing organizations committed to an outreach mission.

Our Audience

Our ultimate customer is the livestock or poultry producer. However, this project is committed to supporting the existing network of organizations delivering information to this customer. The project will target groups and organizaitons that influence animal producer decisions such as commodity groups, ag organizations, public and private sector advisors, and those involved in public policy implementation.

Our Plan

Objective 1. Implement a national outreach education initiative that is responsive to customer identified priority issues. This project has initiated a Customer Advisory Team representing stakeholders that will:

• Identify priority and emerging issues.
• Assist with connecting our audience to this project.
• Evaluate the Center's effectiveness and impact.

Objective 2. Establish the infrastructure for a sustained national outreach initiative with its foundation based upon a multi-disciplinary, multi-organization National Outreach Team of experts. This National Outreach Team will improve linkages between organizations that have important research, educational, and planning responsibilities. To implement the activities proposed by this national outreach initiative, this team will initiate work groups addressing customer identified priority issues.

Objective 3. Deliver innovative products that provide a national audience on-demand access to our best science-based resources.

• National Web-Cast Workshops. This project will deliver live educational workshops utilizing web-casting technologies on priority issues. This technology brings national experts and audiences from widely dispersed locations together for cost-effective educational experiences.
• Web-based Learning Center. This project will partner with the national land grant university eXtension initiative to implement a web-based Learning Center.
• Additional Customer-Friendly Outreach Models. The project will explore implementation of other innovative outreach models such as virtual on-farm tours of emerging technologies, and concise "Research Updates for Non-Researchers".

For more information about this project contact: rkoelsch1@unl.edu Rick Koelsch 402-472-3935; mrisse@engr.uga.edu Mark Risse 706-542-9067; or jhharrison@wsu.edu Joe Harrison 253-445-4638;